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Will MPW Birmingham be open in September?

MPW will be open in September for face to face teaching.  We are confident that we can deliver a safe environment for students and staff and we are pleased to provide more detail here.

When does the Academic Year start?

The first day of classes at MPW Birmingham will be on Tuesday 8th September, with induction for all new students taking place from Monday 7th September. Our international student welcome will take place on Friday 4th September (for more information, please see the Coming to MPW section of this website).  All of our induction and welcome activities will be conducted in a safe, socially distanced format and we will not be holding large scale assemblies during the autumn term.

What happens if I am unable to come to MPW Birmingham for in-person teaching in September?

We recognise some students may have travel restrictions or not feel ready to travel to MPW Birmingham for the start of term. To support students wishing to start in September, but remain at home, MPW will provide online access to their classes and the full range of support services until they are able to join in person, through until January 2021.  Should the worldwide situation need us to extend this into spring term 2021, we will do so.

Will online learners attend the same lessons as those present at MPW Birmingham?

The timing of our students’ lessons is unchanged, and students are expected to log in and be present.  Internal assessments will continue to be included in our courses.  Students would only be marked as absent if they were not to log in.  We are aware of challenges around time zone differences, and will record all lessons where some learners are online. 

Will online learners receive the same level of pastoral support as those present at MPW Birmingham?

Yes – 1-1 meetings with Personal Tutors will continue online, and our Personal Tutors remain available as usual to help students with any queries or problems they face, and can be contacted by email, phone or Microsoft Teams.  We will continue to offer the fullest range of support services to ensure that students receive the very best possible pathway to their future.


Will studying online affect students’ record of attendance?

No – students can be reassured that this won’t be the case. It is important that students remain in contact with college staff to ensure they have a current address and contact details, and that they continue to engage on a daily basis with the online study programme to make sure they stay on track. Once students are online, attendance will be recorded and checked by the college.

How well did online learning work at MPW Birmingham in summer term 2020?

Our switch to online lessons from March 2020 went very smoothly.  We provided a full time-table of live classes within 24 hours, keeping to the same small groups with existing teachers and schedules, and maintainied our personal tutor model, with extensive pastoral care running throughout this period so that we could identify any individual issues and act swiftly to address them.  Alongside full lessons, our Firefly Virtual Learning Environment provided additional resources, task setting and homework submission.

Attendance across all three schools exceeded 94%, a tremendous effort from staff and students. We are very encouraged with the feedback from students and staff with regards to our online learning solutions.  Direct feedback from two of our students/parents is below:

“Thoroughly enjoyed the lesson, it was detailed had the same format as our normal lessons and allowed for group discussion as well. I also enjoyed the fact that we could use the message tool and were able to collectively produce a revision document at the end. I wouldn’t make any improvements about the lesson”.

“Super impressed how MPW has risen to the Corona crisis and set up excellent online class teaching for their students. Today is the first day and classes went ahead just as if they were in school. The unique set up of MPW of usually only having about 6-8 students per class make this of course a little easier than if one has a class of 17/35 but that’s why we chose MPW to start with”.

What happens if MPW Birmingham has to close on government advice during the autumn term?

If this was the case during autumn term 2020, or beyond, we would revert to our successful online model as described below, and continue to teach and support our students to the highest standard possible.

Am I now able to visit the college?

Yes. The college has reopened, and academic and pastoral staff are available from 9am - 6pm, Monday to Friday. If you would like to arrange a visit, please contact us.

Am I able to prepare academically over the summer for my learning from September?

For potential sixth form students we have an exciting opportunity to focus on key subjects with masterclasses, and a range of study skills and University preparation sessions in our Ready for Excellence programme, for which registration is still possible. 

In addition, for international students looking to improve their English language prior to starting at MPW Birmingham, we have launched our new online pre-sessional English programme, running from 3rd August – 4th September. Further information around this course may be found here.

Are tuition fees the same for in-person or online learning, teaching and support at MPW Birmingham?

We have frozen our tuition fees at 2019/20 levels, in recognition of the disruption and increased costs caused to families owing to COVID-19 this year.  These fees are payable whether students attend in-person or online during Autumn Term 2020.

Can I defer my studies?

If personal circumstances dictate, new MPW students will be able to defer their studies until January 2021.  MPW will be creating more dedicated 18 month courses starting in January to enable students to catch up for lost time, but we strongly advise students to make the most of their time during the Autumn term and we would ask you to contact us to discuss the opportunities and benefits of starting online.
 

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